h o u r g l a s s
by Avindara Nirvene
Summary: beyond the rim of the starlight... an AU in which a resurrection is made, a phoenix soars, and loneliness drives people to do insane things... .::written for Rainless Night's CBtL Challenge::. starring Peter, Lily, Severus, Albus, and one Harry Potter.
1. night falls upon the earth in pieces

please note: this is written for** Rainless Night**'s Coming Back to Life challenge (in the forum 'writing challenges')

to apologise to long-chapter-lovers: I'm sorry, but most chapters will be pretty short and confusing, as it is a new kind of writing I am trying out. ;)

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**night **_falls_ _upon_ the** earth** _in_ pieces

It is nightfall – the faded outline of a crescent moon just visible behind the clouds.

(There are no stars tonight.)

Peter is in the basement of Spinner's End, flipping through what looked like a parchment disaster.

_There must be something there…something that would help…_

There it is, in faint, penciled letters.

He skims through the page, and a small smile lights up his thinned, mousy face.

Peter has never been so glad that Severus Snape was talented at Potions, and thought to keep ingredients at home.

(Even if several of the products had resulted in Peter's face.)

x

"Five clockwise stirs," he murmurs. The black pot emits a greenish glow upon his face in the dark room.

He shies away from it.

(It's light, and light reminds him of Lily.)

(He would see her again.)

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reviews are highly appreciated ;)


	2. the sky awakens, and the story begins

note: this piece is rated for cursing.

to the confused readers: does this explain anything at all? no? then you're all right xD

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_The_ **sky **awakens, _and _**the story** _begins_. 

He waits.

After he has finished with the concoction, poured it into a glass vial, and chanted the name five hundred times, Peter sits there idly, lost in thought.

(Why isn't she here yet?)

He waits until dawn breaks – the sun illuminating the sky with a light shade of pink, and he hears Severus (the bat) stirring upstairs.

_Damnit._

He flips back to the parchment. At the bottom, in fine black lettering, it reads:

**Subject will arrive at place of death.**

_Place of death, place of death, where is that? _He thinks hurriedly, and finally, it hits him –

_Godric's Hollow._

_Shit. _

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again, reviews are highly appreciated ;) and will be replied. (if you think it sucks, then tell me in a _nice_ way ;P)


	3. sunshine and daisies in the wood

here she comes... 

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_Sunshine_** and** _daisies_ **in **the** wood **_(but nothing seems like it anymore)_  
_  
_It is dark all around, and then light streams in from between her long fingers, light that is surprisingly not green.

(It is a bright yellow colour, reminding her of sunshine and daisies, days when she was free and frolicking in the pasture, not cooped up at home like a fugitive.)

Curious, she lowers her hands to find herself in the nursery. _Harry's room…_The ceiling had clearly been demolished, but the pieces had disappeared – blown away, probably. The sun shines on her perplexed expression, dancing on her red hair. The room is empty, with the exception of a few twittering birds.

_Harry…where's Harry? Where's James?_

The break-in, Lord Voldemort...was it all just a dream?

But where did the ceiling go?

Where are James and Harry?

She sprints down the stairs, frantically calling their names.

_Have they been taken away?_ As question after question rushes wildly through her head, her shouts turn hysterical, to the point of screaming.

"Oh, do be quiet," a voice snips.

She whirls around.

Bathilda Bagshot. 

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review pleasee! ;)


	4. the soft spinning of a widow's web

does this help, some? ;) 

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nothing _unravels _**the** _soft spinning_ of a **widow's_ web _**_(though you can tear it to bits)_

_  
_"And please do tell me why you are standing there," she adds.

Bathilda hobbles toward the gate, and tilts her head to listen.

"What?" Lily frowns, staring at the overgrown hedge. Her once neatly-manicured lawn grass had grown to be practically waist-length.

"It's 1996," Bathilda replies calmly, "Aren't you supposed to be dead?" 

_Dead. _

_  
_So she had died.

"Where am I now?" she wonders quietly, fingering the peeling paint of the stair banister.

_Living or dead?_

Bathilda lightly touches the gate. Up springs a sign made of wood, through the wild nettles and bushes.

"Wha-" Lily begins, but Bathilda puts a finger to her cracked, dry lips, as golden letters began etching themselves onto the wood:

(Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Bathilda's Secret)

_On this spot, on the night of 31 October 1981_

Lily and James Potter lost their lives.

Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard ever

To have survived the Killing Curse.

This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left

In its ruined state as a monument to the Potters

And as a reminder of the violence

That tore apart their family.

More words were forming on the sign, around the gold lettering, but she couldn't bear to continue reading past the first two lines. It echoes in her head over and over again - _Lily and James Potter lost their lives..._  
_  
She's dead._

Though if she's dead, why is she still breathing now?

--

review pleasee! ;)


	5. an inquiry echoes

here you go! ;)

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an **inquiry **echoes _(but there is nothing you can do about its pounding presence)_  
_  
Now what?_

Peter wrings his hands, helpless.

(This isn't the first time he has done this gesture.)

He hears the soft, swishing noises of Severus's cloak, and hurries to clear out any evidence of his potion-making – putting away the ingredients and emptying the cauldron. In his haste, he knocks over the glass vial. It falls to the dirt, promptly shattering to pieces.

"_Reparo!_" he cries, and quickly shoves the newly repaired vial under his mattress.

(He doesn't notice that there are still a few tiny glass shards left on the floor, and the potion slowly leaks out, drop by drop.)

(Time will run out.)

x

Peter does this just in time, because in the very next moment, there is a flash of black and Severus Snape arrives.

"I thought I told you to get the cauldron ready for me?" Severus drawls, nearing the black pot.

"Why, what is this?" he asks unpleasantly, fingering a shard of glass upon the ground. He looks directly at Peter, and freezes.

(Severus can smell her fragrance.)

--

review pleasee! ;)

(and guess who's coming up next!)


	6. memories are craved yet feared

a/n: I'm sorry! OO I posted the wrong document... sorry.

another note: if you want to, you can look back on the past few chapters - Sandshrew777 has been beta-ing them for me! Thanks Sandshrew777 ;)

so here's the real one:

* * *

_memories _are craved _yet_ **feared**

(Millions of old memories stream into his head, ripping open old wounds. Yet it satisfies him. Like a drug.)

His cold black eyes remain empty. Inside, a series of moods: rejoicing, suspicion, skeptism, despair, and the tiniest ounce of hope.

(He'd come so close to his goal; now it was all ruined.)

_Is she really back?_

The query refuses to abscond. He longs to leave his post, to find truth in the matter, but it is too dangerous, too foolish.

_He must stay on guard, do his duty. _

_And maybe she will love him then. _

"What are you staring at?" Severus snaps, "Prepare the ingredients. We must begin."

Peter quickly obliges._For I have sworn thee fair, and thought thee bright, who art as black as hell, as dark as night. _–William Shakespeare

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review! ;)


	7. ordinary is overrated

first time writing harry, and thank you sandshrew777 for beta-ing! ;)

* * *

**Ordinary **is_ **overrated**_

Harry, for one, is having a perfectly normal day.

(Half-Blood Prince, page 267 – American Edition)

After fixing the time of the new team's first full practice for the following Thursday (there had just been Quidditch tryouts), Harry, Ron, and Hermione bade good-bye to the rest of the team and headed toward Hagrid's. A watery sun was trying to break through the clouds now and it had stopped drizzling, at last.

Harry peers up at the sky, annoyed.

_The rain stops now, when we're already done and - does it mean something? _

He pauses, suddenly curious, and having no idea whatsoever where the notion came from.

(Was it a sign from God, like all those video tapes he saw on Dudley's telly before it got smashed in?)

As they approach Buckbeak, Ron still droning on excitedly about his saves, he shrugs it off.

_Probably just something out of the ordinary, everyday happenings._

The ordinary – but what is that?

* * *

review pleaseee! ;) and guess who's coming up!


	8. the fire disappears

did you guess right? :)

* * *

**the **_fire _**d i s a p p e a r s.**

Albus Dumbledore sits on his chintz armchair, and from what Orla Quirke can perceive, he looks as regal as a king on his throne.

"Take a seat," he gestures at another comfy-looking chair, and she cautiously sits.

"Now," he smiles contentedly, "We're quite well-seated, and you're probably wondering why you're here."

Orla nods, and waits for him to go on.

He pauses slightly, then continues, "I daresay you have heard of the misfortune that has befallen your classmate Roger Davies's family."

A glimpse of Orla's sapphire-blue eyes is seen as she raises her head, then the little light-brown-haired head dips back down again.

"After a deliberate decision, I have decided that –"

A shadow flits past the professor's countenance and he closes his eyes momentarily.

"-I have decided that-" he shudders violently, then opens his sparkling blue eyes.

"You are going to be Ravenclaw's Quidditch Captain. Your Head of House, Professor Flitwick will give you the details, and your badge. That is all."

He says this quickly, as though he wants Orla out immediately.

She stands up to leave, and before she exits the room, she turns back.

The phoenix by the headmaster's side disappears with a flash.

* * *

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